Wringer



N. l.. b,E11-15x51 WRINGER Original Filed Jan. 11, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 1 -origipai med Jan. 11 1951 s sheetsggget 2 D@ 10,1957'- A .N L, ETTEN 2,815,653

WRINGER N. L. ETTEN Dec. v1o, Y1957 WRINGER 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 original Filed Jan. 11, 1951 NLC/2,0265 L. Etten United StatesPatent O WRINGER Nicholas L. Etten, Cedar Falls, Iowa, assigner, by mesne assignments, to Chamberlain Corporation, Waterloo, Iowa, a corporation of Iowa Original application January 11, 1951, Serial No. 205,583. Divided and this application August 31, 1954, Serial No. 453,303

2 Claims. (Cl. 68-260) This invention relates to wringers, and particularly to wringers for washing machines, although it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the principles of this invention are applicable to other machines.

This application is a division of my copending application entitled Wringerj U. S. Serial No. 205,583, tiled January 1l, 1951, and now abandoned.

In the past, many and various types of wringers have been developed, but difficulty has been experienced in providing a wringer readily and easily assembled and wherein access to the Various mechanisms is quickly attained in the event of minor repairs or adjustments without requiring the dismantling of the major portion of the wringer piece by piece. Moreover, wringers heretofore known were frequently objectionably expensive, partially caused by special bearings and mountings for the rolls separate from the frame members. In some cases, also, the safety release mechanismwas not such as to provide a comparatively great separation of the rolls with the suddenness desired.

An object of this invention is to provide improved means for supporting a wringer roll from a frame member.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved, readily fabricated and easily assembled frame for a wringer.

Another feature of this invention is the provision of improved means suspending an upper roll from the top bar or upper frame member of a wringer while permitting ready installation and removal of the upper roll.

Still another object of this invention is the provision of a simplified, readily constructed, highly durable and readily operable wringer.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompaying drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention, and in which:

Figure l is a side elevational view of a wringer constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure l showing the wringer in a pressure released condition with the upper roll elevated;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view, on an enlarged scale, of the left-hand portion of the wringer of Figure l;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken substantially along line IV-IV of Figure 2; and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken substantially along line V--V of Figure l.

As shown on the drawings:

In general, the illustrated embodiment of this invention comprises a frame generally designated by reference numeral 10, a lower roll 22 supported for rotation `ice in frame 10, an upper frame member or top bar 32 which carries an upper roll 34, reset means including a reset lever 44 and a link 46 and a pair of release bars 51 for releasing the reset means. Top bar 32 may be moved from the upper position illustrated in Figure 2, in which roll 34 is disengaged from lower roll 22, to the lower position illustrated in Figure l, in which the rolls 34 and 22 are operatively engaged, by manual actuation of the reset lever 44, the rolls being releasable from the engaged position of Figure 1 by actuation of bars 51.

The frame 10 includes a horizontally extending troughlike box frame member 11 and a pair of upright facing standards or end stiles 12 and 13 of generally channel shape having their lower ends secured within the ends of box frame member 11 as by means of rivets 44. A gear housing 15 has a support post 16 projecting downwardly therefrom for supporting the wringer on a washing machine or the like. The housing is secured to a lug 17 on standard 13 by means of a screw 13 and has a horizontally extending plate 20 secured to box frame member 11 by a rivet 21.

The lower wringer roll 22 has a pair of shaft portions 23 extending axially from either end thereof which are journaled on bearings 24 disposed in either end of box frame member 11. The right-hand shaft portion 23, as viewed in Figure l, is connected to a coupling 25 extending from gearing in gear housing 15. Upward movement of the left-hand shaft portion 23 is limited by a screw 26 threaded through Istandard 12, as best seen in Figure 3. The lower roll 22 may thus be readily removed by removing screw 26, lifting the left-hand end of the roll 22 upwardly and slipping the right-hand end of the roll out of the coupling 25.

Water and the like from the rolls, in excess of that removed by the customary drain board, may collect in the trough-like box frame member 11, and the frame member preferably has openings (not shown) in the bottom thereof to drain water therefrom.

Disposed over the top end of the gear housing 15 is a bracket 27 of generally channel shape which is secured to the gear housing 15 by means of pins 28, each pin 28 having a cotter pin 29 through the end thereof to permit ready installation and removal of the bracket. The upper frame member or top bar 32 is pivoted to the bracket 27 by means of a pin 33.

The upper roll 34 has a pair of shaft portions 35 extending axially from each end thereof. A pair of bearing support members 36 of generally U-shape are supported from the top bar 32, each bearing support member 36 having an integral hollow oval bearing 37 between the legs thereof. The opening in each bearing into which the shaft portion 35 extends is of elongated oval shape and the legs of the bearing support member 36 have openings of similar shape aligned with the openings in the bearings, as best illustrated in Figure 4, this bearing structure permitting ready removal and installation of the upper roll as will later appear.

To support each bearing support 36 from the top bar 32, a pair of connector bolts 33 extend through openings in the top bar, through a helical compression spring 41 and through the bearing support 36, a nut 40 being threaded on the end of each bolt to hold the bearing support therein against the action of the compression springs. When the top bar 32 is in the roll-engaging position of Figure 1, the compression springs 41 are compressed and determine the pressure between the rolls.

The openings in the top bar 32, through which the bolts 38 extend, are somewhat larger than the Shanks of the bolts so that the bolts can be pivoted with respect to the top bar, the compression springs 41 normally maintaining the bolts in a position normal to the top bar and restraining the bolts from pivotal movement. It will be seen that upper roll 34 may be removed with the top bar 32 in the position of Figure 2 by manually pivoting the left-hand pair of bolts clockwise and the right-hand pair of bolts counterclockwise to move the bearings away from keach other past the ends of the shaft portions of the upper roll. The elongated oval shape of the bearing openings permit such pivotal action without any binding action between the shaft portions and bearings. The upper roll may, of course, be readily installed in the same manner.

A cap plate 42 is disposed over the head of each bolt 38 and is secured to the top bar 32 by screws 43, this plate limiting upward movement of the bolt and permitting ready installation of the compression spring 41 and the bearing support member 36 on the bolt. Suflicient clearance is provided between the bolt heads and cap plates so that the bolts can be pivoted as above described when installing or removing the upper roll.

The means for applying pressure to the rolls includes a reset lever 44 of generally channel shape pivotally secured to the top bar 32 by means of a pin 45. A link 46 connects the reset lever 44 and the standard 12 of the frame 10. A generally U-shaped bracket 47 providing a pair of spaced lugs is secured to the standard 12 by means of rivets 48, and the link 46 is secured to the bracket 47 by a pin 49 and to the reset lever 44 by a pin 50.

Movement of the reset lever 44 downwardly and toward the frame from the position of Figure 2 will operatively engage the upper roll 34 with the lower roll 22 as shown in Figure l. It will be seen that the link 46, in the position of Figure l, is disposed over-center with the pin 50 inside a line through pins 45 and 49 so that the rolls 22 and 34 will be locked in operative engagement, the springs 41 urging the members 36 downwardly, thereby applying pressure to the upper roll. This upper roll, of course, must ilex against the action of the springs during use of the wringer.

The pressure release mechanism acts directly on the reset lever 44. To this end the reset lever 44 has a pair of integral arms 44a extending inwardly on opposite sides of the top bar 32. Downward movement of these arms acts to pivot the link 46 outwardly past center to release the top bar 32 and relieve the pressure ybetween rolls 22 and 34. As a safety precaution, it is highly desirable that the rolls 22 and 34 be readily releasable from operative engagement very suddenly. To eiect this operation a pair of release bars 51 are pivotally secured on either side of the top bar 32, either release bar being movable downwardly to engage the arm 44a, to move the link 46 past center, and to relieve the pressure between the rolls which instantly separate to a comparatively great extent by virtue of the action of the Springs, the fact that the top bar carries both the springs and upper roll, and that the pivot 33 for the top bar is at the far side of the gear housing 27.

As best illustrated in Figures 4 and 5, the .release bars 51 have such a cross-sectional shape that they extend progressively upwardly, outwardly and downwardly from the top bar 32. The inner end of each release bar 51 has a plurality of lugs or ears 52 thereon which are inserted through slots in the top bar 32, a loop or cotter 53 extending through the end of each lug 52, thus pivotally supporting the release bars on the top bar 32.

It will be seen that the Wringer of this invention is simple, -readily constructed, highly durable, and easily and safely operated.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the novel concepts of the present invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a wringer, a roll, a pair of bearings rotatably supporting the ends of said roll, a frame member extending generally parallel to said roll, said frame member having a first pair of openings therein adjacent one of said bearings and having a second pair of openings therein adjacent the other of said bearings, a rst pair of bolts having shank portions extending through said first pair of openings and having head portions engageable with said frame member, a second pair of bolts having shank portions extending through said second pair of openings and having head portions engageable with said frame member, means connecting the shank portions of said rst pair of bolts with said one of said bearings, means connecting the shank portions of said second pair of bolts with said other of said bearings, and means resiliently urging said bearings `away from said frame member, said openings having diameters suiciently greater than the diameters of said shank portions to allow tilting movement of said bolts and movementof said bearings axially with respect to said roll to release said roll from said frame member.

2. In a Wringer, a roll, a pair of bearings rotatably supporting the ends of said roll, a frame member extending generally parallel to said roll, said frame member having a rst pair of openings therein adjacent one of adjacent the other of said bearings, a irst pair of bolts having shank .portions extending through said first pair of openings and having head portions engageable with said frame member, a second pair of bolts having shank portions extending through said second pair of openings and having head portions engageable with said frame member, means connecting the shank portions of said first pair of bolts with said one of said bearings, means connecting the shank portions of said second pair of bolts with said other of said bearings, means resiliently urging said bearings away from said frame member, said openings having diameters sutiiciently greater than the diameters of said shank portions to allow tilting movement of said bolts and movement of said bearings axially with respect to said roll to release said roll from said frame member, and a removable cap plate secured to said frame member and having a portion extending over the head of each .bolt for limiting axial movement thereof, said portion being Vspaced a distance from said frame members sufficiently greater than the axial thickness of the bolt head to allow said tilting movement of the bolts.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 167,071 Cole Aug. 24, 1875 329,051 Kirby Oct. 27, 1885 335,981 Weiser Feb. 9, 1886 434,303 Stinson Aug. l2, 1890 763,895 Holmes June 28, 1904 1,408,819 Mars Mar. 7, 1922 1,586,354 Deagle May 25, 1926 1,626,831 Howe May 3, 1927 1,637,630 Altorfer Aug. 2, 1927 '1,841,057 Roberts Jan. 12, 1932 2,065,330 Kauffman Dec. 22, 1936 

